Head chef James Cusman, of Marine City, prepares a Gar's Burger, winner of the Best in The Blue Cheeseburger Contest, as it cooks on the griddle. / MELISSA WAWZYSKO/TIMES HERALD

Written by

Holly Setter

Times Herald

The Gar's Burger winner of the Best in The Blue cheese burger contest is seen atop one of the rustic picnic tables inside The Loft area, Tuesday February 12, 2013, at Gar's Lounge in Marine City. / MELISSA WAWZYSKO/TIMES HERALD

TIME TO HOOK THE PERFECT WALLEYE

BEST IN THE BLUE, PART 2

• Ah, you like this game. Hundreds of people voted in Round 1 of Best in The Blue, our search for the perfect cheeseburger. • While you chew on the results, let's launch Round 2. • Partly in observance of Lent and partly because it is the Blue Water Area food, help us find the St. Clair or Sanilac county restaurant that serves the best walleye. • To nominate the most outstanding walleye served in the Blue Water Area go to thetimesherald.com/spin and fill out the nomination form. • Your nomination must specify the name of the restaurant as well as the specific menu item. • The deadline for nominations is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19. • We will compile the nominations and print a ballot in next week’s Spin magazine that you can use to choose the Best in The Blue. • Contact Michael Eckert at meckert@thetimesherald.com or (810) 989-6264 with your questions.

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The people have spoken.

We received more than 650 votes in the initial Best in The Blue cheeseburger competition, and one burger rose above all the rest. The best place around to nab a really delicious burger is Gar’s Lounge in Marine City.

The cajun burger at the Zebra Bar in Port Huron came in second and the mushroom swiss burger at Neal’s Bar and Grill in Port Huron nabbed third.

Winning seemed to be inevitable to the Garwoods, who were not surprised when they heard they won.

“It’s about time,” said Pennie Garwood, co-owner of Gar’s Lounge. “We’ve been here for 37 years.”

And they have been doing it the same way for all that time.

When asked what she liked best about the Gar Burger, Patricia Allen, of East China, had an easy answer.

“The whole thing,” she laughed. “It’s fresh, it’s delicious, the chefs cook it just great. It’s covered in mushrooms and cheese and bacon. The buns are good, not just cheap flour and water. The give you a lot of condiments and a whole wad of pickles. For your money, you really get a decent meal.”

Each burger is made with fresh hamburger picked up daily from Zimmerman’s Meat Market in Marine City, two four-ounce ice cream scoops worth and cooked to well done on a flat-top grill, Garwood said. Toppings range from nothing but a oversized, sesame seed bun to the Gar Special with cheese, mushrooms and bacon. Burgers come split in half with a side of pickles.

It seems simple, but the burger has garnered a huge following.

Garwood said the burger is the number one seller at the restaurant, with about 98 percent of their customers ordering one.

Jim Maiga, of St. Clai,r said the key to the Gar’s Burger is he always knows what he is getting.

“We’ve been going there for at least 20 years,” he said. “I just like the consistency of their burger. It is always the same and that’s the biggest thing about it. They use fresh meat all the time and I like the way he cooks them. I’m not a fan of raw or medium rare burger.”

Garwood said that they have never skimped on the size of the Gar Burger. If the price of the ingredients increased, so did the price of the burger. The burgers sell between $6 for a regular hamburger to $7.50 for the Gar Special.

The size of the burger is a big part of the appeal.

“They’re the biggest burger you can imagine,” said Marty Folkerts, of Clay. “I have never in 30 years gotten a bad burger.”

The restaurant staff frequently split a single burger for multiple patrons, Garwood said, especially if the table is ordering fries. A single order of fries is enough for three people, she said.

Although people raved about the burger itself, many also praised the atmosphere and staff at Gar’s Lounge when asked why they voted the way the did.

“We’ve always been in the restaurant business and you just appreciate nice waitresses, clean restaurant, good owners,” Allen said. She and her husband were the owners of Bills Duck Inn for years, she explained. “I looked at the others (nominated) and we’ve eaten at a lot of them. I’m real proud of our St. Clair, Marine City Algonac area, that we have good restaurants. Lucky to have so many nice ones.”